Lawrence of Arabia returns to theaters tonight for one-night-only screening

As part of the Fathom Event series, Sony Pictures Entertainment is holding a nationwide screening tonight at 7 p.m. local time of a digitally repaired, color re-mastered, and fully digitally restored update of director David Lean’s epic film Lawrence of Arabia. Winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture of 1962, the film celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The screening also includes interviews with star Omar Sharif as well as a featurette with director Martin Scorsese.

Lawrence of Arabia is famous for its cinematography, and will be presented in its original Columbia Pictures 2.20 aspect ratio. But that’s not all it is famous for. The American Film institute rated it the #7 greatest film of all time and it frequently makes critics’ top 100 lists. Although it was star Peter O’Toole’s first film, it also features an all-star cast, a “who’s who” of top 1960s British actors, including Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, and Jack Hawkins, along with Jose Ferrer, Anthony Quayle, Claude Rains, and Omar Sharif. Composer Maurice Jarre’s stirring themes gave Lawrence of Arabia one of the best film scores of all time.

And even better, this nicely done trailer for its 50th anniversary release:

Check out this link for a giant list of participating theaters to see if one near you is included.

Note that if you attend, prepare to stay for the full four hours and twenty minutes, including the features. The film will be shown with a 15 minute intermission, as included in the original release. The intermission is included in the runtime of the event.